Supplement users rank health care high priority

WASHINGTON The Council for Responsible Nutrition last week issued a survey outlining domestic priorities among dietary supplement users. According to the 2008 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, while the economy ranks as the highest priority issue for the largest portion of survey respondents, healthcare issues rank among the top two domestic issues for the majority of surveyed supplement users, as 52% ranked health care as either the No. 1 or No. 2 domestic issue facing the country. As many as 46% of non-supplement users rank healthcare issues as either first or second. Supplement users also tend to place an emphasis on health as a priority in their own personal lives, as reflected in their day-to-day habits when it comes to maintaining overall wellness, CRN stated. When asked to indicate whether or not they agree with the following statements about their personal behaviors, supplement users and non-users responded according to the chart above.

“It’s interesting to note that so many who place healthcare issues as a top priority for the country are also doing what they can on an individual level,” stated Judy Blatman, CRN senior vice president, communications. “We’re pleased to see that users of our products are taking an active role in maintaining their own wellness regimen though a combination of healthy habits that include efforts for a balanced diet, taking vitamins and other supplements, and engaging in regular exercise.”

The 2008 CRN Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements, formerly known as the CRN Consumer Confidence Survey, was conducted Aug. 20 to 25, 2008, by Ipsos Public Affairs and funded by CRN. The survey was conducted online and included a national sample of 2,013 adults ages 18 and older from Ipsos’ U.S. online panel. The survey has been conducted annually since 2000.

RONKONKAMA, N.Y. Nature’s Bounty recently announced its Healthy You, Healthy Earth Sweepstakes, which is designed to raise awareness around “green” living.

The grand prize of the sweepstakes is a $10,000 “green” home makeover, along with more than 1,000 other instant-win prizes.

The Healthy You, Healthy Earth Sweepstakes is part of Nature’s Bounty’s on-going commitment to being a good steward of the planet, the company stated. “As a maker of vitamins, minerals and other nutritional supplements, Nature’s Bounty utilizes only the most environmentally friendly sources and processes to provide health conscious people with top-quality products, manufactured, packaged and shipped in ways that promote the well-being of both the consumer and the earth,” the company said.

NBTY, parent company of Nature’s Bounty, was recognized this past fall by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership as a Business Leader for Energy Efficiency, thanks in part to a 35-year heritage of seeking greener alternatives in the manufacture and distribution of dietary supplements.

Nature’s Bounty’s green initiatives started more than three decades ago when they began using recyclable plastic bottles, the supplement manufacturer stated. Since then, PETE and HDPE bottles, two 100-percent recyclable plastic formulations, have been used to package more than 300 products. Recycled “pellets” from these bottles are so versatile that they end up being reused in clothing, carpets and even other product packages.

“Recycling initiatives are just one part of Nature’s Bounty’s ‘going greener’ efforts,” commented Kimberly O’Connell, marketing director for Nature’s Bounty, at the time of the NEEP recognition. Nature’s Bounty participates in its “Healthy You, Healthy Earth” campaign to give greater focus to environmental efforts, she noted. For example, the company partnered with both the Trees for the Future—an environmental organization that plants trees all around the world—and the Go Green Initiative, which focuses on educating children about the environment.

Trees for the Future has planted over 50 million trees, which removes approximately 1 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year. Nature’s Bounty’s goal is to help them plant 1 million more trees by 2010.

Go Green Initiative programs are up and running in schools in every state, as well as Africa, Asia, Europe, Canada and Mexico.

CRN elects Mark LeDoux, Natural Alternatives International, chairman

WASHINGTON The Council for Responsible Nutrition on Monday announced that Mark LeDoux, CEO of Natural Alternatives International, has been elected CRN chairman. LeDoux, who will hold the office through 2010, succeeds Marjorie Fine, senior vice president and general counsel, Shaklee Corporation. Fine will continue to serve on the board as immediate past chair.

LeDoux has served as the chair-elect of the Board during 2007-2008, chair of the CRN Political Action Committee since its inception in 2004, and previously served as chair of the association’s International Trade and Market Development Committee.

“I have been an avid supporter of CRN for more than a decade and look forward to continuing the association’s aggressive agenda and initiatives,” said LeDoux. “During my two-year term, my goal is to strengthen CRN’s position as the responsible, leading voice of the dietary supplement industry. This association and its members are advocates for reasonable regulation that promotes unfettered consumer access anywhere in the world to well-made, properly labeled dietary supplements at any potencies that are demonstrated to be safe by appropriate scientific measures.”

With LeDoux, the following executives were newly named to the CRN board: chair-elect Janice Binger, Archer Daniels Midland Company; treasurer David Christensen, Bayer HealthCare; and secretary Kristen Blanchard, Nutramax Laboratories.

“This is a particularly strong board representing the diversity of the industry, with company representatives from large companies, small companies, ingredient suppliers, finished product manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies with supplement divisions and companies that make only natural products,” Steve Mister, CRN president and CEO, said. “Under [LeDoux’s] leadership, we expect to continue our growth and aggressive representation of the industry.”

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